Anybody know a good 1911 'smith near Columbia, SC?

[BridgeTooFar]

So, I've acquired a SS Colt Mark IV Ser. 80 1911 (was my dad's, and he's now decided to let me have it).

After cleaning it this last time, I function checked it and (without thinking) let the slide drop on an empty chamber. Bad idea, I know, but the hammer followed the slide (so, I guess I'm glad I found that out the easy way rather than the hard way) but did not appear to actually make contact with the firing pin.

Although this pistol has never done this while firing (I've put about 250 rounds through it since I got it), I presume this is an issue I need a gunsmith to look at; so, now I'm wondering if anybody knows a good 1911 man/woman in the Columbia, SC area or or whether it needs attention at all.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Jim Watson]

1911Tuner, this board, is in Lexington. He is not a full time gunsmith but I bet he can take care of your Colt.

 

[BridgeTooFar]

I'll PM him. Thanks!

 

[BridgeTooFar]

I just realized (from his profile) that 1911tuner is from Lexington, NC, not SC.

Therefore, I'd like to re-ask my question.

Thanks again.

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Anyone?

 

[1911Tuner]

Unless somebody's been dinkin' around with the sear and hammer hooks, it's probably just a matter of adjusting the sear spring to place more tension on the trigger and disconnect. Center leg. It does require a partial detail strip, and that can be a little more tedious on a Series 80 pistol when it's time to put it back together if you let the sear pin fall out.

If you can make the trip, I'd be glad to have a look and see what it needs. It'll be a good opportunity to tear it all the way down for a full inspection and a good cleaning/oiling. No charge. I'm an hour north of Charlotte.

Two questions...

When the hammer followed...did it stop just short of hitting the firing pin, or did it go all the way down? There's not a lot of difference with a Series 80 because of the quarter-cock shelf.

And...When you release the slide with ammunition in the magazine...does if behave normally, or does the hammer follow?

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Thanks for your advice. If I get some time, I may very well take you up on your offer.

As to your questions:

The hammer appeared to stop just short of hitting the firing pin (maybe 1/16" or 1/8" from hitting the pin).

It has not done this with ammo in the magazine in the past; although, I have not tried to load the pistol since this happened for fear of having an accidental discharge in the house. I'd planned to take it to the range to test just that out, but I haven't had the opportunity yet.

 

[1911Tuner]

The hammer appeared to stop just short of hitting the firing pin

That's most often a sear spring issue, and simple to correct, though it may require a new spring.

Essentially what happens is that the slide slams to a stop and jerks the frame sharply forward with it. The trigger obeys Newton and stands still, and gets bumped by the the disconnect...which in turn bumps the sear and moves it just enough to get loose from the hammer hooks. The sear resets and grabs the stop shelf...formerly known as the half-cock notch. The reason that it doesn't do it while chambering a round is because the feeding cartridge slows the slide enough to soften the hard stop, though it may do it if you try it with just one or two rounds in the mag. Although it's not highly likely that the gun will slam-fire while loading, it wouldn't be wise to count on it. Sometimes there's more than one issue.

Do another quick test...once.

Empty gun...Locked slide. Pull the trigger full rearward and hold it there. Release the slide with the slidestop. My bet is that the hammer won't follow. If it doesn't, it's the sear spring. If it does, you've got other things to look for.

Holding the trigger gets the disconnect out of the picture, and the trigger can't reach the sear. Many years ago, when the only triggers available were made of steel, the Bullseye competitors would deliberately hold their triggers when recharging the guns to prevent trigger bounce and the resultant hammer follow that often came with 56-ounce trigger jobs. Not because it was especially dangerous, but to prevent having their finely honed sear crowns damaged by the half-cock.

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Bingo. I tried what you suggested, and it did not follow that time.

 

[1911Tuner]

Yup. Center leg of the sear spring needs more tension. If youv'e got an older Series 80 with a steel trigger, that'll make it more likely to happen.

For what it's worth...I've found NIB Colts that would do the same thing, and a little tweak on the spring cured it.

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Good deal. Does that mean that it's still safe to shoot, or will it need to be "tuned" before I attempt that?

 

[1911Tuner]

As long as it only does it on an empty chamber...I'll go ahead and say that it's probably safe to shoot. If it ever does it while firing it...stop, unload the gun, and get thee to a smith.

I say probably because:

A. The quarter cock shelf stopped the hammer, and
B. It doesn't do it while the trigger is pulled, which is exactly how it functions when you fire it.

However...

It's not a normal condition and really should be attended to because without seeing the gun, I don't know if there are any other issues in the trigger/fire control group.

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Makes great sense. I will probably keep it in the safe until I can get it looked at by someone more qualified than me.

Thanks a lot for all your advice, and like I said, if I get the time, I may just take you up on your offer to look it over.

 

[Al Thompson]

There are a dearth of gunsmiths around here. Innovative Arms in Elgin does good work, but he's pretty backed up. If you are a MCRC member, Tom may be able to help you out. Or we could link up and pop a new spring in your 1911..

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Thanks for all your advice, guys. I was discussing my problem with a friend of mine who I didn't realize knows his way around a 1911 pretty well, and he mentioned that he'd had the same problem with one. He said he took his to a local shop here that does a fair amount of work. He was very pleased with the results; so, I decided to do the same. I'll report back with my results.

 

[Al Thompson]

Who is the local shop? Inquiring minds want to know..

 

[BridgeTooFar]

If it's cool with you, I'd rather save that info for when I have a report. I don't really want to give out a name without my own experience with them. I will say, if you've lived around this area for any amount of time and like firearms, no chance you haven't heard of them.

 

[Al Thompson]

LOL, good luck....

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Quick update:

I dropped the pistol off on 6/26 and was told to call back in a week or so to see where they were. I called today and was informed that their gunsmith "only worked on the weekends, and he hadn't gotten to it yet - call back after next weekend."

Not a great sign for getting back quickly, but hopefully since there's a backlog, the guy's pretty decent.

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Final update:

I just picked the gun up. The work's been finished for about a week and a half, and I was just now able to get by there. Needless to say, I haven't had an opportunity to test fire it yet, but they say they sharpened the sear and re-tensioned the sear spring. It cost $35 at Shooter's Choice in West Columbia, SC. Not a bad price (to me - no idea how much time it actually took, etc.). They say they test fired it and it ran ok.

Only one thing - do all pistolsmiths/gunsmiths leave the firearm dirty after test firing? I can see this both ways, really. As in, if it were me, I think I'd clean it up for the guy before returning it. But, I can also see where if they leave it dirty, you can see that they actually did fire it. I just don't know.

Anyway, I'll fire it over the next week or so, but I have no reason to doubt that it did function check ok for the guy doing the work.

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Real final update:

Went to test it out yesterday. Functioned flawlessly with all types of ammo (ball, HP). No hammer drop without pulling the trigger. Seems like the work done was right.